Just Give Me a Chance
by Dracossack
Summary: "To me, you're more than just all of the guys you've slept with. You're more than the armor you wear. And if you just give me one, single chance, I will prove to you that you do not always have to get what you have always gotten." Staubrey one-shot.


**Just Give Me A Chance**

"_You line them up, we'll put them down, this is so frustrating  
__To watch you sleazing all around, yet you keep on smiling"_

"You were staring again."

The tall, blonde girl looked up from her seat at the piano, where she was making a few notes on the sheets of music in front of her. She raised her eyebrows as she gave the redheaded girl addressing her a questioning look, before returning her gaze back to her sheets.

"I have no idea what you're talking about, Chloe" She said as she scribbled on the paper.

"Oh, don't play dumb with me, Aubrey," Chloe chided as she pulled a chair up and sat down next to the girl in question. She had a sly smirk plastered on her face as she leaned against the side of the large, black grand piano. "You were staring at Stacie throughout the whole rehearsal."

"Why would I be staring at Stacie?" Aubrey asked in monotone, continuing to write. Chloe rolled her eyes. She knew Aubrey always tried to act detached and composed, a trait she inherited from her father, and as much as she loved the girl, she was her best friend after all, this particular attribute of hers frustrated her extensively at times. This time was no different.

"Oh, come on, Bree," Chloe said. "Your toner for her is _so_ obvious." Aubrey's emerald eyes locked on to Chloe, who was still smirking rather knowingly under Aubrey's menacing glare, who was irked not so much by the observation but by the way Chloe had used a term that she had invented against her. A 'musical boner' indeed...

"Not that it matters," Aubrey commented as she slid the sheets of music back into the folder and closed it forcefully. "She's as straight as they come. And you know as well as I do that she's not exactly _picky_ when it comes to her vast number of _male_ partners."

"Are you forgetting that I wasn't much different before I met Beca?"

"That's different, Chloe. You both had a toner for each other. This is clearly a one-sided attraction and I will not allow myself to yearn for something I can never have."

"So you admit you're attracted to her."

"It doesn't matter."

"Aubrey..."

"End of discussion, Chloe. If Stacie wants to sleep around, that's her business. If that's what makes her happy, then so be it," Aubrey said resolutely as she stood before quickly gathering her belongings and walking out of the rehearsal space in which the two girls had been conversing, and, before that, rehearsing with the rest of their A Capella group, the Barden Bellas. When she heard the door slam shut, Chloe sighed.

"If you really think that makes her happy, then you're the one who needs to get her head out of her ass..." Chloe whispered before taking her own leave.

* * *

"Damn it, Stacie, if you don't quit groping yourself during the dance, I swear to God I will boot your ass off of this team!" Aubrey bellowed across the rehearsal hall. All of the other Bellas looked at Aubrey with a mix of horror and fear before looking to Stacie with pity in their eyes. For her part, the tall, busty brunette looked to the floor in shame.

"I'm sorry, Aubrey," she said quietly, not willing to make eye contact with the team captain. Aubrey sighed, cursing herself for yelling at the girl. True, though her ire was most definitely warranted, she shouldn't have come down so hard on the girl in front of the rest of the team. It was unnecessarily humiliating, and Aubrey felt a pang of guilt as she looked at the girl. She sighed before dismissing the team, allowing them to leave practice about a half an hour earlier than usual, for which they expressed their eternal gratitude.

"Um, Stacie, could you stay for a moment, please?" Aubrey asked softly as the brunette collected her jacket and purse. Stacie stood rigidly, quite convinced that Aubrey was about berate her even more. When the rest of the Bellas had cleared out, Aubrey took a deep breath and let out a sigh. "I'm sorry."

"Look, Aubrey, I... wait, what?" Stacie asked.

"I said that I'm sorry, Stacie. I shouldn't have yelled at you like that, especially in front of everyone," Aubrey said. She gave a weak smile as the brunette stared open-mouthed at her. The last thing she had expected was an apology. Aubrey felt an unsettling feeling rising in her stomach as she saw Stacie's reaction. Of course, she figured, it was just like her to be so hostile that the one person she really cared about, next to Chloe, that is, was actually stunned into silence when she tried to apologize. She did her best to blink back the tears that threatened to storm forth. It was only when Stacie saw Aubrey turn away that she snapped out of her stupor.

"No, it's okay," she said as she shook her head. "You're right. I shouldn't be doing that during our sets. It's... a bad habit, and I'll get it under control." Aubrey turned and smiled at the brunette, thankful that she didn't seem to hate her. She had a way of antagonizing people and she was sure she couldn't stand having Stacie dislike her. It was already hard enough to watch her take so much joy in the company of others.

"Oh, I know you will," Aubrey chided jokingly. "But I still shouldn't have yelled at you. God, I am such a bitch."

"I don't think that's true," Stacie said with a smile on her face that truly warmed Aubrey's heart. "Most of the time." She winked in Aubrey's direction as she uttered those words, which sent a noticeable blush rushing across the blonde's face.

"Well that's good to hear," she said with a weak laugh.

"So see you tomorrow, Captain?" Stacie asked, her voice low and sultry. Aubrey gulped as her heart rate increased dramatically. By her voice, the blonde would swear that Stacie was starting to flirt with her, which, for a moment, she allowed herself to believe despite all of her logic screaming in denial.

"Umm... I..."

"For rehearsal...?"

"Oh. Right," Aubrey said, feeling both relieved and disappointed simultaneously. Relieved because her grip on her composure had been slowly slipping since the conversation began and disappointed because it would appear that Stacie was not, in fact, flirting with her. Still, she couldn't help but return Stacie's smile before the tall brunette turned and walked out of the rehearsal hall, nor could she tear her eyes away from the way Stacie's hips swayed as she walked out. "Damn it, Posen, get a grip."

* * *

Aubrey stood quietly against the wall, calmly sipping at the drink in her hand, perfectly content to stay out of the raving party currently taking place around her. Never one to favor any sort of loss of control, the girl found her entertainment in observing the alcohol fueled interactions of her peers. For the most part, it was all rather amusing to her. But as her eyes fell on to the center of the dance floor, she was met with the sight of a very drunk Beca and an even drunker Chloe grinding sensuously against her to the beat of the obnoxiously loud music pounding throughout the room. She scoffed quietly to herself, rolling her eyes before seeking a new source of entertainment. Unfortunately, she found a tall, busty brunette making her way towards the dancing couple and promptly moving to grind up against Beca from behind. This action was clearly amusing to Beca and Chloe, who seemed only to encourage Stacie's actions, while Aubrey silently fumed. It was times like this that made her wish she could let herself succumb to the alcohol and give up her treasured control and composure. But, despite this, she stayed calm, doing her best to ignore the trio.

However, it didn't take long before the drunken males present at the party began to flock to the three girls, enamored at the sight of their sexually charged dancing. Before too long, however, Beca and Chloe began to feel uncomfortable with the attention, and quickly stumbled off of the dance floor. Aubrey's watchful gaze followed the couple as they whispered into each other's ears and giggled, practically falling over themselves as they made their way out of the main room in search of some manner of privacy. Aubrey chuckled and rolled her eyes before turning her attention back to the dance floor, where Stacie was still dancing amidst the large crowd of guys who seemed to be focusing exclusively on her.

Perhaps it was inevitable, then, that Stacie would pull one of them to her, pressing her lips to his in a passionate and unrestrained kiss before dragging him away from the dance floor as they sought that which Beca and Chloe had set out for not five minutes earlier. Aubrey felt a tear slide down her cheek as she let her drink fall to the floor, caring little for the mess it made at her feet.

* * *

The last thing Aubrey expected to find when she arrived at the rehearsal hall was the sound of the piano emanated from within. Aubrey, being the Captain, was _always_ the first to show up, usually up to thirty minutes earlier than the start of rehearsal. Thus, she was utterly bewildered by the sound of Pachelbel's "Canon" drifting gently across the empty space. It was completely and utterly beautiful, and Aubrey thought surely she must have been hallucinating when she stepped quietly into the room to find Stacie seated at the piano, playing the piece that Aubrey had always envisioned would be played at her wedding. As if she needed more reason to fall even harder for the brunette. She stood in silence and stared at Stacie as her fingers danced slowly and gracefully across the keys, her head swaying ever so slightly to the rhythm she created. When she concluded the piece, Aubrey couldn't restrain herself from clapping softly for the taller girl, who whipped her head around at the sound of Aubrey's applause.

"That was amazing," Aubrey said.

"Thanks," Stacie said sheepishly as she brushed a strand of hair out of her face and behind her ear.

"When did you learn to play?"

"My mother taught me when I was around seven, I think. That was before she... well, it was a long time ago," Stacie said as a forced smile made its way across her face.

"What happened?"

"I don't really want to talk about it."

"Okay," Aubrey said. "But feel free to keep playing if you want, we still have some time before rehearsal starts. Actually, you really should play for the rest of the Bellas! I'm sure they'd love to listen to you show off." Stacie only shook her head.

"I don't really like playing in front of people. It's... it's kind of a personal thing," she said.

"Oh... okay, I understand," Aubrey said, trying desperately trying not to let her disappointment show. Stacie, however, didn't miss the blonde's downcast face as she delivered her refusal. She sighed and chuckled slightly to herself.

"Well, maybe I can play one more, just for you, _Captain_," she said as she turned around to face the keys. Aubrey's squeal of delight was not lost on the brunette as she began to play the opening notes of Bach's "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring."

* * *

"Christ, Aubrey, you have got it _so _bad for this girl," Chloe said. Aubrey rolled her eyes from the couch where she sat wrapped up in a blanket watching reruns of _Friends_ with a bucket of chocolate ice cream in her lap. "This is the third time this week I've found you like this."

"Well, as I recall, you did roughly the same thing before you and Beca finally got together so I don't think you have any room to criticize," the blonde muttered.

"That's exactly my point! Look, you just need to tell her how you feel. Aubrey, I've been watching you. I know that this is killing you, and it can't get better until you admit your feelings to her."

"What I have now is better than what I'll have if she rejects me."

"Oh my God, Aubrey, listen to yourself! We've had this conversation before, but our roles were reversed. When did you become so unwilling to take your own advice?"

"Since the object of my affection gives herself to someone new every week _and_ she's straight."

"Aubrey, she flirts with you _all_ the time. Plus, haven't you been hanging out with her after rehearsals lately? What do you two do?"

"She plays piano for me..." Aubrey murmured.

"She plays piano?!" Chloe asked incredulously. "I had no idea."

"Me neither until I walked in on her playing 'Canon' before rehearsal one day," Aubrey said.

"No way..." Chloe gasped, knowing what that song meant to the blonde. Aubrey nodded.

"I asked her to play for the rest of the Bellas but she won't. She says she doesn't play in front of people."

"And yet, she plays for _you_..."

* * *

"I can't do this shit," Stacie groaned as she let her head fall to the desk at which she was currently seated. "Face it, Bree, I'm going to fail. I'd be better off trying to sleep with the professor to get a passing grade."

"Take the dramatics down a notch, Stace," Aubrey chided gently, though internally she worried that the brunette was half serious. "Look, let's go back over the problem step by step and figure out where you messed up."

"It doesn't matter if we go back over it now, I won't be able to on the exam," Stacie whined.

"But if you never look back at your mistakes, you're doomed to repeat them. If you always do what you've always done, you'll always get what you've always got."

"Who said that?"

"Henry Ford."

"Like the cars?"

"More or less. Now, concentrate," Aubrey said as she gestured back towards the paper covered in unsolved Calculus problems.

"Hey, Bree?"

"Yea?"

"Do you think I'm a whore?"

"Why, because you have a lot of sex?" Aubrey asked, having been caught slightly off guard by the question. Stacie nodded slowly in response. "No, that's silly. To be a whore, they'd have to pay you. Now, back to Calculus."

"I'm serious, Bree," Stacie said, ignoring Aubrey's request to return to the academic endeavor. "I..." She choked back a sob as her eyes began to well up with tears. "I don't want to keep getting what I've always gotten."

In that moment, Aubrey's heart broke, only this time, it was not _because_ of Stacie, it was _for _Stacie.

"Hey, hey," Aubrey cooed softly as she pulled the brunette into a hug. "It's all right." She really hated saying that, for she knew it was a meaningless and hollow phrase uttered only by optimistic fools to make themselves feel better, but she had no words of comfort for the girl now crying into her arms.

"It's not all right," Stacie said. "You know it's true. I'm a slut and the whole damn world knows it. Hell, I was proud of it for the longest time."

"Why, Stacie?"

"In high school, I started dating my best friend's boyfriend. It wasn't like he cheated on her or anything. She dumped him because she was bored. She wasn't very nice, as you might imagine, but I really liked him, so I didn't think she'd care if I dated him," Stacie began, sniffling and trying to wipe away her tears with her sleeve. Aubrey reached over her desk and retrieved a tissue before gently wiping the tears off of Stacie's face. "Thank you." Aubrey smiled down at the brunette as she continued her story. "Anyway, she just started spreading rumors about me, saying that I slept with the whole football team. Petty shit, really, and I didn't even care. I had Alex. But then her rumors eventually caused him to break up with me, not because he thought I was actually doing those things, but because he was embarrassed to be around me, because everyone else said I was a slut. So that's when I decided if I was going to have that reputation, I may as well reap the benefits."

"Oh, Stacie..."

"You ever watch Game of Thrones?"

"Yes..."

"Well, you know what Tyrion says to Jon in the first season? 'Wear it like armor, and it can never be used to hurt you.' That's what I did. And that's what I've been doing ever since," Stacie said softly.

"Stacie... you don't have to keep living that way," Aubrey said. "You don't have to keep getting what you've always gotten."

"How, Bree? This is all I know. You may not know this, but I've had as many failed relationships as I've had one night stands. Every time I try, they never last the week, and it gets more painful every time I fail."

"Then maybe you aren't trying with the right person," Aubrey comment slowly.

"How will I know who the right person is?" Stacie asked.

"When you find him, you'll know," Aubrey said.

"What if it isn't a him?"

"Excuse me?" Aubrey asked. Her heart began racing, and she was thankful Stacie was no longer pressed against her chest, sobbing into her shirt. Not that she minded that, she just didn't want her to see how nervous she was.

"Well, what if I could never make the relationship work because they were always with a guy? And it's not like I think girls are gross or anything. Actually, I've always thought other girls were hot, I mean look at you. You have the prettiest blonde hair I've ever seen, and your legs are so long, and have you seen your abs?" Stacie said, letting out a soft moan which caused just about every ounce of blood in Aubrey's body to race to her face. "Bree, you're beautiful."

"Stacie, I..." Aubrey said, her voice trembling as she tried to form a coherent sentence, but she couldn't, for Stacie was now pressing her lips against Aubrey's. Despite this event having plagued the blonde's dreams for months, she was so stunned by the sudden turn of events that she remained rigid.

"I'm sorry, Bree, I didn't mean to freak you out..." Stacie said quickly as she stood up from the desk and walked towards the door of Aubrey's bedroom. "I'm so sorry. I just thought that, well, I mean, you've always been so nice to me, despite my reputation. It was stupid of me to do that. I'm sorry. I'll leave you alone now. Just... just please don't think badly of me, okay?" She turned and opened the door before stepping out, and just as she was about to close it, Aubrey's voice hit her like a truck.

"Stacie fucking Conrad, don't you dare walk out on me after that!" She yelled. The tall brunette quickly re-entered the room and stood nervously, awaiting the imminent verbal assault from the blonde. But it never came. Instead, Aubrey crossed the room and pressed Stacie up against the door before latching onto her lips with her own. After a searing, bruising kiss, Aubrey took a step back. Her eyes glinted with fresh tears. "You don't get to kiss me and then walk out on me after I've spent months wishing that I could be with you even for just a single night. You don't get to decide that you're gay and then leave me here alone after I've had to suffer through watching you be with so many others, knowing I would never have that chance. You don't get that option. No, you're going to stay and listen to me. I know you feel more for me than you ever did for any of your hookups. Hell, you play piano for me every day after rehearsal when you won't even tell the rest of the _Bellas_, your _teammates_, that you can play at all. And I get that you feel like you've been ruined for relationships, but to me, you're more than just all of the guys you've slept with. You're more than the armor you wear. And if you just give me one, single chance, I will _prove_ to you that you do not always have to get what you have always gotten."

Stacie let out a cry of joy as she rushed forward into Aubrey's arms. The blonde simply held her there, running her hand lightly through her hair and whispering that everything was going to be all right, knowing this time that she was telling the truth.

* * *

Chloe squealed gleefully as Aubrey and Stacie sat down in the booth across from her and Beca in the small diner.

"Jesus, Chlo, stop bouncing up and down like a little kid," Beca said with a smirk.

"I can't help it! Aubrey finally got her girl," Chloe said happily, causing Beca and Aubrey to roll their eyes in almost perfect synchronicity. The two were far more alike than they realized.

"I have to say, of all people, I never expected Aubrey to be the one to reel you in, Stacie," Beca said.

"She had me at 'Stacie fucking Conrad,'" Stacie said teasingly as she wrapped an arm around Aubrey's waist. Beca and Chloe both looked to Aubrey for an explanation.

"I may or may not have been yelling at her right before we decided to get together," Aubrey said sheepishly, causing Beca and Chloe to erupt with laughter.

"Dude! I hope she didn't scare you into submission!" Beca managed to say between her laughs. Aubrey glared at the little brunette, but was quickly comforted by the feeling of Stacie's hand rubbing against her back.

"Aw, it's okay, sweetie," Stacie cooed, being completely immune to the teasing. She was far too thick skinned for that to bother her. "At least you'll be the one fucking Conrad later tonight." Her voice was sweet and low and sensuous, which drew a furious blush from all three girls, even Chloe, and that was certainly no easy feat.

"So..." Chloe said, clearing her throat. "Aubrey told us you can play piano."

"Yea, that's kind of how we started hanging out so much. She was just _so_ insistent on listening to me while I played," Stacie said. She leaned over the table and whispered loudly to the other couple. "I think it turned her on." Beca and Chloe both chuckled as Stacie glared at her new girlfriend.

"But why didn't you tell the rest of us?" Beca asked curiously.

"Well... long story short, after I earned my, um, reputation, my mother, who had taught me to play, stopped showing up at my piano recitals. Both my parents were pretty embarrassed of me, and I suppose I couldn't really blame them. It didn't take the sting out of it though. I still liked to play, but I couldn't bear the thought of an audience. At least not until this one came along," Stacie said with a smile before placing a gentle kiss on Aubrey's cheek.

"Awwww..." Chloe said as Aubrey beamed from the gesture. Beca smiled and shook her head. As much as she claimed to despise couples being romantic and cheesy, she couldn't help but agree with her own girlfriend. The two were nothing short of adorable. Aubrey sighed with contentment. Even if she had to put up with patronizing accusations of cuteness from her best friend, along with the inevitable years of hearing 'I told you so' that would follow, she was the happiest girl in the world. Eventually, the waiter came and took their orders. The girls continued chatting about random topics, finally getting off of the subject of Stacie and Aubrey's new relationship, until their food arrived. Aubrey stared at her food, in stark contrast to Beca who immediately began wolfing down her own meal, much to Chloe's chagrin.

"Hey, babe," Stacie said as she looked over at the blonde. "What are you thinking about?"

"Every time I come here, I always order french toast and ask that they leave the powdered sugar and syrup on the side instead of just pouring it all on because they always use too much, and every single time, they always forget to do it," Aubrey said with a sigh.

"Well," Stacie said with a smirk. "A very wise person once told me that if you always do what you've always done, you'll always get what you've always got."

"Ain't that the truth," Beca commented with her mouth full of pancakes and eggs, which earned her a playful swat from Chloe. Stacie laughed along with Chloe while Aubrey just shook her head and smiled.

"You have no idea."


End file.
